The recommended downtown redesign plan, Alternative 1, again failed — after a four-hour session — to win approval from Chico City Council, leading to another stalemate over downtown revitalization.
The Council produced a tie 3-3 vote on Alternative 1, even after 70 members of the public spoke at the podium, with about two-thirds in favor of the plan. Alternative 1 would create protected, one-way bike lanes by removing one of three lanes on Broadway and Main streets.
Public comment saw the second-highest turnout of any City Council session. There were 77 sign-ups, but seven potential speakers left the packed chamber during the public hearing. Some members of the public were asked to listen from the “overflow” room.
Many speakers compared downtown’s Main Street to a highway and said its design leads to dangerous situations, and even accidents, that could be mitigated by removing a lane. This sentiment was shared even among some of the speakers who opposed Alternative 1. Some called for shrinking the lane sizes to reduce speeds.
“Downtown Chico is like a highway thoroughfare,” said speaker Julie Keener. “I would like downtown to be a destination, not a thoroughfare. Let’s plan for the future. What an amazing opportunity we have.”
Without approval, the City will miss out on the Active Transportation Grant that requires an application by June 22. The grant would help fund a majority of the project outlined in Alternative 1, excluding landscaping. The City would also need to find a way to match the grant by 12 to 20%.
Public Works Director Brendan Ottoboni said Alternative 1, of three plans that were prepared, would likely be the most competitive for the grant program.
Mayor Kasey Reynolds, Vice Mayor Dale Bennett and Councilmember Michael O’Brien — who each voted no in the April 7 meeting — said new information came to light in the April 21 meeting, such as Enloe Medical Center’s opposition. They again opposed Alternative 1.
Similar to the previous meeting, councilmembers Addison Winslow, Bryce Goldstein and Katie Hawley voted for Alternative 1. Councilmember Tom van Overbeek recused himself because he owns downtown property.
(At the conclusion of the meeting, Chico’s Bill Monroe told Reynolds she should have recused herself as the owner of the downtown Shubert’s Ice Cream.)
Suzie Lawry-Hall, director of marketing and community outreach at Enloe, said Main and Broadway streets provide the quickest access from south and west of downtown and to Durham, something that would be affected if a lane was removed.
“Our concern is that our perspective has not been adequately considered,” she said. “Nor have we been asked for additional input as a stakeholder.”
But Noel Carvalho, project manager for Public Works, told ChicoSol several special meetings for stakeholders were held. Throughout the process, Enloe hadn’t been present, and this meeting was the first he had heard from the city’s only hospital.
ChicoSol reached out to Enloe for comment and Enloe issued a statement this afternoon. The statement notes that Enloe Health “is not opposed to the revitalization” effort.
Some speakers argued that elimination of a lane could affect response times for first responders, while others said the plan would make downtown safer by slowing down traffic.
Several speakers were parents who wanted a more bike-friendly downtown for their children. High school teacher Jon Tyler said he has a daughter learning to ride a bike.
“My daughter and I love riding bikes, we do, and we want to get around town wherever we can on our bikes,” he said. “She’s a new bike rider, though. There’s no way we can bring her downtown for the next year, at least.”
Anton Carrio was one of many Chico High School students who spoke in favor of Alternative 1.
“While I can’t speak from a business owner’s perspective, I can speak for Chico’s youth,” Carrio said. “To us, downtown is more than just a place; it’s the heart of our community.”
Some community members voiced frustration with what they saw as a lack of information and haste in the project’s consideration.
However, the City has held several outreach events since spring 2025 with both stakeholders and the public, sent informational emails and posted fliers around downtown asking for feedback.
The project’s consultant, Aaron Silva, said there had been a total of nine outreach events. During his presentation, he noted that once the City was awarded the grant, there would be more opportunities to restructure the plan and hold community meetings.
Alan Tochterman, who owns several buildings downtown, told ChicoSol he wanted more time before the Council took a vote.
“Tonight was the very first time I heard what this was potentially going to cost,” he said during public comment. “Forty to fifty million, that’s a wide range, and the City might have to come up with 20% of that figure.”
If Alternative 1 was approved, a grant award could come at the end of this year. Work would begin several years later.
Councilmember Hawley made one final plea to her colleagues before the vote, calling on them to look at community feedback.
“If we go forward for our future, continue using our downtown as a thoroughfare, I want to be really cognizant of what that message means to people who want to stay in Chico, like me,” she said. “Because if we don’t make community-oriented decisions, I don’t want to live here the rest of my life.”
When it was Reynolds’ turn to vote, there was a long pause. Finally, Reynolds said, “I’m a no, but I want to move forward somehow on this.”
She said she was leaning toward Alternative 3 instead of Alternative 1.
Alternative 3 would remove about 49 on-street parking spaces, remove a lane, and increase sidewalk space. But there would be no protected bike lanes on Broadway and Main streets; instead this option would create buffer bike lanes on Salem and Wall streets.
Even without bike lanes, it would still cost around $40-50 million, Ottoboni said.
“I wish we would have had this in front of us two months ago so we would have had more time to continue this conversation,” Reynolds said. “But we’re here now and we have to be done in two weeks.”
Goldstein raised an objection to Alternative 3. “It would not be a good use of taxpayer dollars to put $50 million into bike lanes on streets that are already safe to bike on and not change Broadway or Main at all.”
“I feel like if we let this project die, we’re avoiding the voice of our community,” Goldstein said.
The Council didn’t bring Alternative 3 to a vote.
Chris Hutton is a Chico State journalism major who will graduate in May.